You can’t build resilience during a crisis. That part has to come before.
And yet, most leadership teams don’t know how resilient they actually are—until something breaks. A vendor goes dark. Cash runs dry. A key decision-maker goes offline. Suddenly, it’s fire drill mode. And you’re left asking, “How did we not see this coming?”
The truth is, you probably did. But without a framework to measure and track resilience, it’s easy to miss the signals.
That’s where the Resilience Scorecard comes in.
Why Most Businesses Struggle to Measure Resilience
Resilience isn’t about optimism—it’s about optionality. But because it doesn’t sit cleanly in a single dashboard or report, it’s rarely reviewed until it’s too late.
We see it all the time:
Companies with strong top-line growth… but no runway
Teams that operate at full speed… until a vendor misses a delivery
Leadership teams that move fast… until they hit a governance bottleneck
Resilience is like muscle—you either build it by design, or lose it by default.
Introducing: The Resilience Scorecard
Think of this as a quick, repeatable check-in—a way to stress test your business every week against the things that actually make or break your ability to keep operating under pressure.
Here are 7 categories we track with leadership teams to assess real-time resilience.
1. Cash Buffer Health
What to track:
Weeks of operating cash on hand
90-day cash flow forecast accuracy (% variance)
Why it matters:
Cash is your oxygen. If you can’t survive 3–6 weeks without new revenue, you’re not stable—you’re just busy.
2. Revenue Concentration
What to track:
% of revenue tied to top 3 clients
% of recurring vs. one-time revenue
Why it matters:
If too much of your business is dependent on too few customers—or too much of your revenue is unpredictable—you’re one churn away from a cliff.
3. Decision-Making Speed
What to track:
Time from issue identification to resolution
Number of decisions escalated vs. handled at the right level
Why it matters:
Fast doesn’t mean reckless. It means aligned. If every decision needs a meeting, your resilience will collapse under real pressure.
4. Operational Redundancy
What to track:
Critical processes with a backup owner
% of systems with documented SOPs
Why it matters:
Resilience isn’t just about the plan—it’s about who can run the plan if your #1 person is offline. Documentation is a resilience multiplier.
5. Vendor & Supply Chain Flexibility
What to track:
% of vendors with alternate options sourced
% of inputs from diversified geographies or partners
Why it matters:
Supply chain shocks aren’t just for manufacturers anymore. Whether it’s software dependencies or legal partners, too much reliance on a single source is a hidden liability.
6. Team Accountability + Coverage
What to track:
% of KPIs reviewed weekly with team leads
% of outcomes tied to clear individual ownership
Why it matters:
In times of disruption, everyone needs to know what they own—and what they’re watching. Weekly visibility prevents drift and finger-pointing.
7. Scenario Planning Readiness
What to track:
Scenarios modeled in last 90 days (best, base, worst)
Time to adjust plan based on scenario shift
Why it matters:
Forecasts built on static assumptions break fast. Resilient companies plan for pivots before they’re forced into them.
What CEOs Should Ask Weekly
You don’t need a 40-tab workbook. Start with this:
Are we financially shockproof for the next 30–90 days?
If one key vendor or employee disappeared, how would we adjust?
Can we make decisions quickly, or are we slowed down by our own process?
Are we building resilience… or just hoping we don’t need it?
If you can’t answer these with confidence, your continuity plan might be more theoretical than operational.
Here’s Something to Chew On
Resilience isn’t a department. It’s a culture.
It’s not about being perfect—it’s about being prepared. And that starts by making resilience measurable and visible on a weekly basis, not just once a year during strategic planning.
Your balance sheet will tell you what happened.
Your scorecard will tell you what could happen next.
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